Arizona Estate Planning Laws

Estate planning is when a client comes in to work with a lawyer to create and develop a plan for the distribution of their assets upon their passing. It also includes planning for assistance from others during the persons’ lifetime as they get older. If you don’t create your own estate plan, the state of Arizona has already decided who will get your assets. At Owens & Perkins, we understand that creating an estate plan can sometimes be daunting or uncomfortable. That’s why we’ve created a system to make it as easy as 1-2-3. First, contact our office and we will send you an estate-planning questionnaire that will walk you through each decision you have to make. Second, bring your completed estate-planning questionnaire in for a consultation with one of our highly trained lawyers. We handle all of the drafting, send the documents to you for review, and all you have to do is come in to sign. It’s that easy. And, when it’s done, people say they feel so much better knowing that they have a plan in place. It brings them comfort and peace of mind. If you would like to create, revise, or update your estate plan, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

In the event that a person does not create an estate plan and nominate someone to take over his or her finances, and that person later becomes unable to manage their financial affairs, the state of Arizona has setup what is called a conservatorship. A conservatorship is a legal court proceeding for the person that is going to take over your finances must file a petition with the court to apply and qualify to become your conservator. If the court approves the person to become your conservator, the court will then issue an order granting that person the legal authority to transact business on your behalf, including your financial accounts, real estate, and motor vehicles. When someone is appointed by the court as a conservator, he or she must account to the court for the money that is spent on your behalf each year. What that means is, the conservator has to prepare and file an annual accounting and submit it to the court. It is then reviewed by the court accountant and either approved, or the court accountant can ask for further clarification. And, with each annual accounting, there is a filing fee that must be paid to the court to have the court accountant review the accounting. There is a very easy way to avoid all of this. All you have to do is contact Owens & Perkins to create an estate plan before you actually need it. Included in every estate plan is a financial power of attorney, where you get to select the individual or trust company that will manage your money if you become unable. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss either filing for a conservatorship, or to create your own estate plan, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you are seeking a Conservatorship in Arizona, please visit this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Estate planning is all about controlling your property while you are alive and well. Naming who takes care of you and your finances when you are unable to do so yourself, and providing for your loved ones after your gone the way you want, when you want, and how you want all at the lowest possible cost taking into consideration expenses, taxes, and fees. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out how I can use my experience to design a comfortable and affordable plan for you and your loved ones.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

A living trust is a popular tool used to avoid a probate proceeding, provide creditor protection to a surviving spouse, keep your financial information private, and allow you to avoid a conservatorship and direct who will handle your finances if you are unable to do so yourself. It allows you to give your wealth to who you want, when you want, and how you want all at the lowest possible cost including taxes, expenses, and professional fees. I’m Mark Bregman. Contact me at (480) 945-9131 to find out more about creating your own affordable estate plan.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman

My name is Michelle Perkins and I am the managing partner of Owens & Perkins in Scottsdale, Arizona. Owens & Perkins is a general practice law firm providing legal representation for family law matters, criminal matters, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and trust litigation. The firm has been serving the valley of the sun since 1967 and that’s a pretty long time. I am partners with my grandfather, C.D. Owens. He is on my mothers’ side. People always ask if either of my parents are lawyers and the answer is no. For some reason, the lawyer gene skipped a generation. C.D. and I became partners in 1996 and as they say, the rest is history. One of the frequent compliments we get from clients of the firm is that they feel like they’re treated like family. We take pride in our work and we take our obligations to the community very seriously. When C.D. first started practicing in Scottsdale in 1967, he was one of a handful of lawyers. Now, we have thousands. C.D. represented people back in the day and they fell in love with him. From there, they had children and we represented them. Now, they have had children and we represent them too. We literally have generations representing generations. We know that legal battles can be frightening. We have been there for our clients since 1967 and we treat people fairly and honestly. If you want a law firm that you can count on, that treats you like part of the family, please call us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Trusts

I want to speak to you today regarding what a trust is in the state of Arizona. A trust is a legal document authorizing a third party, known as a trustee, to manage your income and assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries. It may either be a revocable, meaning the trust may be terminated, or irrevocable, meaning the trust may not be terminated and the income and assets must remain in the trust and manage according to the terms of the trust.

Benefits of a Trust

A properly executed trust may be used by a person to avoid probate of the estate after his or her death and to control the manner in which his or her wealth is distributed or managed for the benefit of the beneficiaries. There are also potential tax benefits and legal protections available from the creditors of your beneficiaries that are inherent in trusts. Please feel free to contact the attorneys at Hildebrand Law if you have any other questions regarding trusts in Arizona.

By: Chris Hildebrand

Hi, I’m Beth Cohn. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk and I work in the area of estate planning.

What is an Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be changed. Many times, people will use an irrevocable trust when they want to make gifts to their children or their grandchildren and they don’t want them to get the benefits from those trusts right away.

Amending Irrevocable Trusts in Arizona

There are a couple of options under Arizona law and one of them is having to go to court. We have a new set of statutes in Arizona, under our Arizona Trust Code, that give us guidelines of when we have to go to court in order to request court approval to make changes to irrevocable trusts. But there’s also some more flexibility that’s been given to trustees to make some changes if the provisions and the trusts allow it.

Provisions That Allow Changes to be Made

There’s a provision that’s called decanting and decanting is available for certain trusts. Usually, there’s something in that trust that someone doesn’t like. And what they do, literally, is they create a new trust and they pour those assets from the old trust into the new trust. So decanting is a technique that allows a trustee to make that decision and to transfer assets from the old broken trust to a new fixed trust. There’s some other requirements that are more technical, but it gives the trustee a lot of power if the trustee has certain discretion in the trust.

Do I Need an Attorney to Make a Trust

Well, I think there’s always a benefit. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some of the worst cases when people have grabbed forms and tried to do estate plans themselves. Whether the estate is smaller or larger, estate planning is very technical and there’s rules that we have to comply with. So I advise anybody who needs to have an estate plan done, to see an attorney.

By: Beth Cohn

In the event a person does not create an estate plan and nominates someone to make decisions regarding their housing, living situation, and health care, the state of Arizona has setup what is called a guardianship. A guardianship is a legal court proceeding where the person that is going to take over has to go down and file a petition with the court to obtain the legal authority to make these types of decisions for you. If the court approves the person that is applying to become your guardian, the court will issue an order granting them that authority. Many times, particularly if you have more than one child, a guardianship proceeding can become a contested matter because your children may each have their own idea of what is best for you in your later years. Unfortunately, these types of contested proceedings can cause family fights that ruin relationships and cause damage that never gets repaired. But, there is an easy way to avoid putting your family through all of this. If you have created your own estate plan, in that plan there will be a health care power of attorney that allows you to nominate who you want to make these decisions for you in the event that there is ever a time when you are unable. At Owens & Perkins, we strive to keep families together. Let us help you by preparing your estate plan so that you get to make your own decisions and have those decisions carried out. Id you would like to schedule a consultation to create, revise, or update an estate plan, or discuss the possible filing of a guardianship, please contact us at Owens & Perkins at (480) 994-8824.

If you are seeking a Guardianship in Arizona, please view this profile and submit a contact form.

By: Attorney Michelle Perkins

Hello, I’m Mark Bregman, an Arizona estate planning and probate attorney since 1979. Clients hire me because I provide them with a high degree of comfort by explaining the different ways they can plan an estate, and then following through by creating a comprehensive plan using documents that help them avoid a guardianship, conservatorship, and probate, and the advice appropriate to help them and their loved ones achieve their expectations. I stay in contact with my clients and make sure their plans will be effective when most needed. This is the most popular reason clients hire me. What differentiates me from other attorneys is that I have spent many years developing and updating the provisions I use in creating trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and living wills designed to provide maximum protection for my clients, their families, and their hard earned wealth. I listen to my clients and convey difficult, non-intuitive concepts in a way that is easily understood. I begin by collecting information that induces prospective clients to think about what is important to them so that when we meet, I can listen to them tell me about themselves, their values, their families, and their intentions. I recognize that their wealth is also important to clients with little money. Every family has issues that should be discussed so that the client can choose his or her own way of dealing with their own family dynamics I can provide inexpensive and easy solutions using beneficiary deeds, POD accounts, and beneficiary designations to pass assets without using a trust or a probate, if it’s not necessary. Most of my clients are referred by financial advisors and satisfied clients who already trust me. I asked my clients to put aside their pre-conceived ideas of what they want and instead, focus on whether they like me. Not all lawyers are for all clients. I can’t write poetry or solve quadratic equations and I certainly can’t do the work most of my clients do, but I can create great estate plans. If you would like to work with me and my team, please give me a call at (480) 945-9131.

By: Attorney Mark Bregman